This is a short, to-the-point study on the meaning and place of baptism and circumcision for the Christian today.
Water Baptism
The Greek word for baptism is baptisma and it literally means ‘to dip into’ and it was often used in the sense of dipping a piece of cloth into some dye, resulting in the cloth being identified with the dye.
In the Hebrew Scriptures, water baptism was an integral part of the ceremonial law, and it primarily symbolised ritual cleansing and consecration to God. It was usually performed by the individual in a deep bath or pool known as a Mikvah by immersing themselves in the water. Other forms of ceremonial cleansing involved washing various parts of the body with water by sprinkling, pouring or dipping. (See Exodus 30:17-21; Leviticus 14:7; 16:4; Numbers 19:18-19; 2 Kings 3:11; 5:14; Mark 7:3-4; John 5:1-2; 9:6-7).
John the Baptist
The special prophet and forerunner of the Messiah was John, son of Zechariah the priest. He was commissioned by God to baptise the people of Israel in water as a special baptism of repentance to prepare the people for the arrival of the Messiah and His promised kingdom – hence he became known as John the Baptist. He ministered in the local desert and baptised the people in the Jordan River. But this was only a preparatory step in leading them to faith in Jesus. This baptism identified the individual with John as God’s prophet and it also symbolised the cleansing of the act of repentance (that is, a change of mind to return to God’s way). (See Matthew 3:1-6, 13-17; Mark 1:4-5; Luke 1:13-17, 76-80; John 1:24-31; 3:22-30; Acts 13:24; 18:24-25; 19:4-5).
When Jesus began His ministry, His disciples also baptised the people in water under His authority while John was still baptising and preaching (John 3:22-24 and 4:1-2). This was the ultimate ceremonial act of water baptism for those amongst the people who believed in, and followed, Jesus as the Messiah. The Twelve Apostles were subsequently commissioned by Christ to baptise believers in water in His Name. This act symbolises cleansing and consecration, as well as identity with, and submission to, Jesus as Lord and Messiah. This baptism was primarily for the people of Israel who accepted Jesus, and also believing proselytes of the nations, to prepare them for the coming of the kingdom. (See Mark 16:15-16; Acts 2:36-41; 8:12, 35-38; 9:18-19; 10:47-48; 16:14-15, 29-34; 18:8; 19:4-5).
The Twelve Apostles were commissioned by Christ to disciple, baptise and teach all the nations, not just Israel, during His absence to prepare them all for His return (Matthew 28:18-20). The apostles began to do this in the first century AD, although it was the apostle Paul who was later sent to the nations in a special sense.
On the other hand, the Apostle Paul, as the apostle and teacher of the nations, was not commissioned to baptise in water (1 Corinthians 1:14-17). His evangel to the nations gave less and less place to rituals such as water baptism. These ‘elements’ became secondary, as we shall see. Through Paul's evangel, all rituals, including water baptism, are not necessary for salvation today, in this administration of grace. Nevertheless, these elements were originally an integral part of the message of the kingdom proclaimed through the Twelve, but it was always God's intention to supercede water baptism with Spirit baptism.
Baptism of the Holy Spirit
Two of the most misused phrases in Christianity today are ‘Born Again’ and ‘Baptism of the Holy Spirit.’ The biblical thought behind both of these scriptural phrases are rooted in the Hebrew Scriptures, being a part of the New Covenant promised to Israel and Judah (Jeremiah 31:31-34). The phrase ‘Born Again,’ used by Jesus when He spoke with Nicodemus (John 3:3-8), is describing the spiritual regeneration or rebirthing promised to Israel in the New Covenant. Although it is true to say that this regeneration or spiritual renewing process is still applicable for us today while we are in our mortal bodies, nevertheless, Paul takes this thought much further and talks about the New Creation and immortality, which is far greater than regeneration or restoration alone.
Nevertheless, the Baptism of the Holy Spirit is what I wish to focus on here. John the Baptist prophesied that Jesus would baptise the people with the Holy Spirit, and Jesus Himself also confirmed this word (Matthew 3:11; Mark 1:7-8; John 1:32-33; Acts 1:4-5). This spiritual baptism by God’s Spirit was prophesied by the Hebrew prophets as part of the New Covenant in the Messiah (Joel 2:28-29; Ezekiel 36:24-28). After Jesus had fulfilled His first mission in His death and resurrection, He returned to His Father in the heavens and then the Spirit was poured out on the Jewish believers in the temple courts in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-39).
This was further proof that Jesus was the Messiah, the promised Anointed One of God, and that His sacrifice had been accepted by God. The result was the baptism of the Holy Spirit. This was a fulfillment of the promised gift of the Spirit for Israel’s regeneration, which would also spread out to the whole world.
On that special Day, the Spirit not only baptised the believers for cleansing and unity, but it also came on them for power, giving them spiritual gifts, and also filled them for anointed speech. The appearance of the tongues of fire resting on each one of them was symbolic of the Glory of Yahweh appearing as fire, for now all the people were to be the living stones in the spiritual Temple of God (1 Peter 2:4-5). This was also a baptism of cleansing fire, for the judgment begins from the House of God (1 Peter 4:17).
It is not a coincidence that it states that there were 120 believers gathered together on that day, for when the Temple of Solomon was dedicated, there were 120 priests blowing trumpets when the Glory and Fire of God filled the Temple (compare 2 Chronicles 5:12-14 and 7:1-3). The spiritual anointing oil was being poured down from the Head onto the rest of the Body.
The Baptism of the Spirit is the inward reality of being cleansed and consecrated to God, becoming identified with Christ’s spirit, of which the outward ritual of water baptism, which was an essential part of the original commission of the Twelve, is, nevertheless, the mere symbol.(1 Peter 3:21-22; 1 Corinthians 12:13). This outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost was the fulfillment of the promise of regeneration in the New Covenant, as well as the fulfillment of the prophecy of Joel. This was the early rains.
Yet in accord with the prophetic patterns, there is another, more ultimate, fulfillment of the outpouring of the Spirit before the Day of the Lord comes, which is already underway. This is the latter rains, when the Gideon Remnant shall arise with an Elijah type anointing to proclaim the evangel of the kingdom to the whole world in preparation for Christ's return.
Be that as it may, Paul takes this figure of water baptism and virtually does away with it, superseding it with Spirit baptism. There is now only One Baptism – and that’s the baptism of the One Spirit by which all believers of the nations are baptised into Christ and become One Body (Ephesians 4:3-6; Romans 6:1-4; 8:9; Galatians 3:26-29; 1 Corinthians 12:12-13).
This is not to be confused with the giving of spiritual gifts and power, or of being filled by the Spirit for anointed speech. The real Baptism of the Holy Spirit does not have any outward manifestation in and of itself. It is a once and for all action of God’s Spirit which places the believer in Christ; that is, the individual becomes spiritually one with Jesus Christ and is therefore viewed by the Father as a son of God and is therefore part of the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 6:17, 19-20).
Baptism with Fire
John the Baptist also prophesied that Jesus would not only baptise with the Holy Spirit, but with cleansing fire as well (Matthew 3:11; Luke 3:16-17). This primarily has to do with the Second Coming of the Messiah in power and judgment, when He will separate the wheat from the chaff with His winnowing fork of fiery judgment in the Day of the Lord (2 Thessalonians 1:6-10). He will gather the chosen Overcomers into the kingdom (the fruitful wheat), but the unbelievers and religious hypocrites (the useless chaff) will face death and they shall not be allowed into the eonian kingdom of God. This is the Gehenna of fire that Jesus often warned them about in relation to His return. But this fire was not kindled at Christ’s first coming, as He first had to undergo the baptism of death and entombment, and drink the cup of sacrifice (Luke 12:49-51; Mark 10:38-39). But at His return, there shall be fiery judgment and division, a baptism of flaming fire and vengeance poured out on all wickedness and lawlessness.
The Four Elements
We can see here that there are four baptisms that are represented in the four elements of earth, wind, fire and water.
Earth - The Baptism of the death of Christ’s earthly body; death of the Old Humanity
Wind – The Baptism of the Holy Spirit (John 3:6-8); the spiritual New Humanity in Christ
Fire – The Baptism of Fire at Christ’s return; the purifying judgments of God
Water – The Baptism in Water; outward cleansing and consecration
Circumcision
Circumcision was the ancient ritual that God gave to Abraham as a physical sign of the covenant He had made with him and his descendants, Israel, through Isaac and Jacob (Genesis 17:1-27). It later became a part of the Law of Moses and was strictly observed by the people in the land as a sign of their covenant relationship to Yahweh (Joshua 5:1-9). The nation of Israel became known as the Circumcision.
So why did God choose the cutting off of a portion of the male penis as a sign of His covenant with His people? Well, let’s not be shy or embarrassed here. After all, God created male and female, including the sexual organs.
Since the beginning of civilisation, humanity has glorified the male phallus. It was often worshipped as the organ of fertile seed for producing further offspring, as well as the organ of pleasure. Even in Scripture, a man’s strength is seen in how many sons he has. The nations even built pillars representing the mighty phallus! Of course, as a result, sexual immorality and temple prostitution became an important part of their religious worship.
So God decides to strike at the heart of man’s pride by commanding all the males among His people to cut off a portion of their foreskin. For those who were born into the nation, they were circumcised on the eighth day after their birth. That way they wouldn’t remember the pain so much! This ancient ritual of stripping away the flesh was not as severe as more modern circumcisions tend to be. They only cut off a small portion of the foreskin, without mutilating the penis too much.
This was to be a symbol of the inability of the flesh to do anything for God, in and of itself. At the source of all life-seed, only God is the true Giver of Life, and only He can change the heart of man to so as to empower us to conquer the lusts of the flesh. But the Jewish people used circumcision as a means of boasting in their God-given privileges and their self-righteousness. Through the prophets, God made it very clear to them that real circumcision is spiritual circumcision of the heart (Jeremiah 4:4).
Paul makes it clear that a true Jew or Israelite is not only one outwardly but is one inwardly as well, through the Spirit; that is, one who has real faith and lives by the Spirit by walking in love and righteousness, and not just in the way of the written code of the Law, is a spiritual Israelite and belongs to the Israel of God (Romans 2:25-29; Galatians 6:16).
Even believers of the nations, who are uncircumcised in flesh, can belong to the real circumcision in spirit, those who are circumcised in the heart and offer divine service to God in spirit (Philippians 3:3). In Philippians, Paul goes so far as to call the religious circumcisionists, who boast in the act of circumcision and demand that it be observed even by Gentile Christians, the Maimcision! All they do is maim the penis and that’s it! Elsewhere, in Galatians 5:12, Paul says that these rebellious religionists should go further and cut themselves off (that is, emasculate themselves; become eunuchs)!
The fundamental truth that Paul reveals is that, in Christ, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is anything, but what counts is a new creation, with faith operating through love (Galatians 5:6; 6:15). The cross of Christ cancels out all vain attempts of the flesh to boast before God – it’s either law or grace. Likewise, he who boasts in circumcision and the law, in effect, nullifies the cross of Christ (Galatians 5:2-6, 11; 6:12-16; Philippians 3:4-11).
Yet Paul doesn’t do away with all of the scriptural elements or observances of Messianic Judaism. He states a number of times that these elements can still be observed by those who are Jewish Christians (or Messianic Jews), as well as believers of the nations if they so wish, as long as they are aware that the elements themselves are only symbolic of the greater reality of Christ within (Galatians 5:25; 6:15-16; Romans 4:12; Philippians 3:16).
He also taught that believers of the nations (or Gentiles) shouldn’t become Jewish, as each one should remain as they are, and they shouldn't be forced to keep the law of Moses (Acts 15:1-2; 1 Corinthians 7:17-24). During the transitional Acts period, Paul still involved himself in the rituals of the law and the New Covenant, including water baptism (1 Corinthians 1:13-17), circumcision (Acts 16:1-3), and observing the Feasts of the Lord, and he even made sacrifices at the temple in Jerusalem, as he sought to be a Jew to the Jews and to be as one under law to those under law, so as to save some of them (Acts 18:18; 21:17-29; 1 Corinthians 9:19-23).
The reality for Paul, though, was that he was free from the law, yet he was a servant of Christ. He was not actually under law, but neither was he lawless. He was a servant of Christ Jesus. [Since the era of transition was brought to an end, recorded in the book of Acts, when the Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 AD, the elements no longer include animal sacrifices and the Levitical system of Temple worship].
Complete and Free In Christ
In concluding, Paul reveals in his letter to the Colossians that all believers in Christ are now free from the rituals of the Law and they are complete in Christ and lack nothing. He shows that the ultimate meaning of baptism and circumcision is revealed in Christ’s death, entombment and resurrection, and that every believer in Him is so identified with Him in His death, entombment and resurrection, that what is true of Christ, is true of the believer also! He makes it clear that all religious works of the flesh cannot save us from death and the power of the flesh, and therefore they cannot make us righteous before God.
Our flesh, the Old Humanity, has been stripped off in the circumcision of Christ when He died on the cross. We were then entombed together with Him in baptism into death, and roused from among the dead to a new life, the New Humanity of Christ. He is now the Head of a New Order of human beings who are freed from the old, condemned humanity of corrupt sinful flesh. At the present time, we await our expectation of immortality with faith and endurance, knowing that the day of deliverance and justification is coming. Yet one glorious day, ALL those in the old humanity of Adam will be transferred into the New Humanity of the Second and Last Adam, Christ Jesus (1 Corinthians 15:22-28, 45-49).
“Beware that no one shall
be despoiling you through philosophy and empty seduction, in accord with the
elements of the world, and not in accord with Christ, for in Him the entire
complement of the Deity is dwelling bodily. And you are complete in Him,
Who is the Head of every sovereignty and authority, in Whom you were
circumcised also with a circumcision not made by hands, in the stripping off of
the body of flesh in the circumcision of Christ.
Being entombed together
with Him in baptism, in Whom you were roused together also through faith in the operation
of God, Who rouses Him from among the dead, you also being dead to the offences
and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He vivifies us together jointly
with Him, dealing graciously with all our offences, erasing the handwriting
of the decrees against us, which was hostile to us, and has taken it away
out of the midst, nailing it to the cross, stripping off the sovereignties
and authorities, with boldness He makes a show of them, triumphing over
them in it.
Let no one, then, be
judging you in food or in drink or in the particulars of a festival, or of a
new moon, or of Sabbaths, which are a shadow of those things which are impending – yet
the body is the Christ’s. Let no one be arbitrating against you, who wants, in
humility and the ritual of the messengers, to parade what he has seen,
feignedly, puffed up by his fleshly mind, and not holding the Head, out of Whom
the entire body, being supplied and united through the assimilation and
ligaments, is growing in the growth of God.
If, then, you died
together with Christ from the elements of the world, why, as living in the
world, are you subject to decrees: “You should not be touching, nor yet
tasting, not yet coming into contact,” (which things are all for corruption
from use), in accord with the directions and teachings of men? – which are
(having, indeed, an expression of wisdom in a willful ritual and humility and
asceticism) not of any value toward the surfeiting (or excesses) of the
flesh.
If, then, you were
roused together with Christ, be seeking that which is above, where Christ
is, sitting at the right hand of God. Be disposed to that which is above, not
to that on the earth, for you died, and your life is hid together with
Christ in God. Whenever Christ, our Life, should be manifested, then you
also shall be manifested together with Him in glory.”
(Colossians
2:8-3:4 CV)